Keith Kutksa released. He is last of the ‘Monfils Six’ to walk out of prison

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN – The last man to remain in prison for the 1992 death of Tom Monfils at a Green Bay paper mill was released on parole Wednesday morning, according to records from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

Keith Kutska, 72, was one of six men convicted of first-degree intentional homicide as party to crime at a joint trial in 1995 and given a life sentence. The “Monfils Six,” as they became known, were accused of beating Monfils and throwing his unconcious body into a pulp vat, with a weight tied around his neck.

After years of being denied parole, Kutska was granted parole Aug. 10, with the first eligible date of release Tuesday.

He served 27 years of a life sentence.

Tom Monfils

On the morning of Nov. 21, 1992, Monfils went missing from his work station at the James River Corp. mill on Day Street. Nearly two weeks prior, Monfils called the Green Bay Police Department to anonymously report that Kutska was stealing a piece of scrap electrical wire from the mill. Kutska was then suspended from work for a week without pay, during which time Monfils repeatedly called the police department and begged them not to release audio recordings of his phone call reporting Kutska.

Through police department miscommunication, Kutska got hold of the tape of the anonymous police call and recognized Monfils’ voice. When he returned to work Nov. 21, Kutska contronted Monfils and played the recording for other mill workers, invoking anger.

In the three decades since Monfils’ death, there have been differing opinions in the community about the guilt of the Monfils Six. Two books were written about the men’s innocence, and in April, a documentary highlighting divided opinions about the case premiered in Green Bay.

Of the other men convicted, Mike Piaskowski was exonerated in 2001 after a federal judge ruled that there had been insufficient evidence to convict him. Another man, Dale Basten, was released from prison in September 2017 due to failing health, and died the following June at age 77. The other three — Michael Hirn, Michael Johnson and Rey Moore — were released on parole in June 2018, June 2019 and July 2019, respectively.

RELATED: Tom Monfils died 30 years ago at a paper mill in Green Bay. His death still casts a shadow over the city

RELATED: Keith Kutska, last of ‘Monfils Six’ remaining in prison, is granted parole

RELATED: ‘Beyond Human Nature,’ a documentary on Tom Monfils case, premiered in Green Bay. Here are some takeaways

Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli. 

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Keith Kutska released from prison; he was convicted in Monfils case